Justice News

Sewickley Man Charged with Evading Taxes for Himself and His Cleaning Business

PITTSBURGH, PA -- A resident of Sewickley, Pa., has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on charges of tax evasion and obstructing the due administration of the internal revenue laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

The three-count indictment named Mark Stanford as the sole defendant.

According to the indictment presented to the court, Stanford evaded payment of both his personal income taxes and the employer and employee portions of Social Security and Medicare taxes that he should have paid by virtue of owning and operating a cleaning business during the period 2009 through 2013. He is alleged to have made large personal expenditures (such as Bentley automobiles) rather than pay the taxes due and owing. He is also alleged to have lied to the IRS about his ability to pay his tax obligations and to have filed a false report with the IRS regarding his personal and business financial situation.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 (or both) for each tax evasion count and up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 (or both) for the obstruction count. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney James R. Wilson is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.